Justice League is the epitome of a studio movie. It’s all hollow shell, no heart, but perfectly meh. I loved all these superheroes so much as a kid, it just makes me sad that many of them are wasted in their current format. So what should you be doing in Justice League? I mean, these movies are NOT going away as they are Warner Brothers big bet. Fortunately, it looks like there is some learning going on behind the scenes to make these movies better, so hold on to that. I….am trying to.
Superman (Henry Cavill) is dead to begin with. (Sorry Batman V. Superman spoilers….Martha? Did you say Martha?????). So that means Earth is now ready for a malevolent invader: in this case, Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds). Steppenwolf really wants his 3 motherboxes (WTF????, at least just call it a macguffin) which combined can destroy the planet. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) both know they are outmatched alone, so they start searching for help. With the help of Wayne’s Alfred (Jeremy Irons), they solicit Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), and Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) to help them in their quest. But even that might not be enough to stop Steppenwolf, who is just born to be wild on his magic carpet ride of destruction (ZING!).
For those of you who don’t know, Zack Snyder had to tragically leave production of this film, and was replaced by Joss Whedon, the guy who directed the first 2 Avengers. So Justice League was always going to be 2 styles inartfully merged together due to time and budget constraints. If I had to guess, the action sequences were mostly directed by Snyder as they happen in dark or desolate places. They weren’t as incomprehensible as BvS or Snyder’s other non-300 stuff, but I was VERY worried at the opening sequence which was pitch black with the 3D and I couldn’t figure out who was where until Batman trapped a robot fly. All these heroes have really cool powers! Flash and Wonder Woman’s moves were clearly thought out: anytime either of them attacked, the movie comes more to life (though X-Men did the speedster better). But Aquaman and Cyborg are mostly sidelined, and Batman is weirdly just the tech guy. As such, the fights go in fits and starts, and only get exciting when Wonder Woman jumps, or throws a lasso, or Flash’s runs create electricity. Also not helping is another Snyder creation: a CGI bad guy who just wants to kill. When used right, the villain puts the movie into the stratoshphere, but a dimensionless villain just drags a movie to a halt.
I know that’s a bad start y’all. But trust me, there’s hope. Whedon is a MUCH better writer when it comes to character development than Zack Snyder is. You can see Whedon’s touches on the in between scenes, which are the best parts of the movie. Joss pulled whatever character development BvS set up and rebaselined it for the long haul. Batman and Wonder Woman have a lovely conversation about being a leader that might have been the best scene of the movie: each calling each other out on their previous frail character moments. Flash and Aquaman bring some much needed levity to this universe, expressing some hope and youthful enthusiasm sorely needed in a world weary place. Most importantly, Whedon also understands how magnetic Gal Gadot is as Wonder Woman, and he makes her the most important fighter/character in the movie, a great pivot from the previous set up. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows in Metropolis/Gotham (see how I haven’t mentioned Cyborg yet?), many of the failings here I’m hoping are one-off background issues that can be resolved and learned from going forward.
Though in writing, it sounds like I really hated the Justice League, I actually didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t glued to my seat, but I had a solid time, and appreciate some of the efforts to make these movies better. Though this could be a deckchair/Titanic situation, like the Flash, I remain hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day. At least we’ve got Wonder Woman.